Stewart Strawbridge

CURE Program Funds Initiative to Treat Hydrocephalus

Stewart Strawbridge oversees investments related to long andshort equity trading as a managing member of Selkirk Management. In addition to carrying out his responsibilities at Selkirk, Stewart Strawbridge and his wife had helped raise money for CURE Hydrocephalus in order to fund treatment of hydrocephalus in developing nations of the world. Hydrocephalus is characterized by an obstruction in the ventricular system or an excessive amount of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the brain’s ventricles. When a normal amount of CSF exists in the body, it is used to cushion the spine and the cerebrum. However, a larger than necessary amount of the watery substance can result in tunnel vision, enlargement of the skull, convulsions, blindness, mental impairment, or even death. Although hydrocephalus primarily affects infants, adults can also develop the condition.The CURE Hydrocephalus program is part of CURE International, a not-for-profit organization that is committed to treating children who are physically disabled in developing countries. The organization manages hospitals and funds surgical treatment for such conditions as bowed legs, cleft lip, clubfoot, and hydrocephalus. CURE International supports patient services in 29 countries, including Uganda, Zambia, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Afghanistan.The CURE Hydrocephalus division saves the lives of children suffering from hydrocephalus through the areas of research, neurosurgical training, and medical care and treatment. Since its inception in 2000, CURE Hydrocephalus has been instrumental in saving the lives of over 5,000 hydrocephalus patients. Program funding has also gone toward training ten surgeons and paying the cost of leading-edge research and technologies.

Work History

Work History

2008 - Present

Managing Member and Founder

Selkirk Partners

Education

Education

1994 - 1998

BA

Bowdoin College

Stewart Strawbridge

Stewart Strawbridge launched Selkirk Partners in 2008. The investment advisory firm often goes against the grain of Wall Street’s usual focus on results over the short term. Stewart Strawbridge’s many responsibilities include a wide range of administrative duties, including risk management. Investing carries with it inherent risk. Whereas Certificates of Deposit (CDs) carry inflation risk, uninsured investments, such as bonds or stocks, may lose money, should the price fall and they are sold for less than the purchase price. Understanding the nature of various risks in investing allows one to make informed decisions, and perhaps even use risk as an advantage. Losing money is a fundamental risk in investing. But there are many ways to lose money. Systematic risk, which is also called market risk, pertains to fluctuations in interest rates, inflation, currency exchange, and more. Sociopolitical conditions that become unstable in various areas around the world may have a negative impact on investments. Nonsystematic risk affects fewer companies and investments. Management, or company risk, is nonsystematic risk due to poor management choices or other issues relating to a company’s performance. Credit, or default risk, relates to the issuer of a bond not making scheduled interest payments, or the principal when the investment matures. Working shrewdly, one can create a diversified portfolio that combines more risk-prone assets such as stocks or bonds with inherently secure CDs. This allows for greater return over time than using solely FDIC-insured products, but still maintains some protection from loss.

How Steeplechasing Evolved into a Sporting Event

Stewart Strawbridge is from a prominent U.S. family. Now a managing participant in the financial investment firm, Selkirk Partners, Stewart Strawbridge is also an accomplished steeplechase competitor. Steeplechasing evolved from two equestrian activities: flat racing and the sport of hunting foxes. During the early part of the 17th century, when James I presided over England, the steeple of the church was used as a post or boundary to start, mark, and conclude a horse race. Because steeples were very tall and therefore noteworthy landmarks, they served as the ideal icons by which to measure a race. Horses raced from steeple to steeple, jumping streams, hedgerows, and walls as well. The activity eventually took hold and became a primary sporting event in the U.K. and U.S. The first race that was recorded occurred in 1752 in the county of Cork in Ireland. The sport of steeplechasing gained prominence in the U.S. with the arrival of English and Irish settlers. Prior to the Civil War, races were held in the states of Virginia, Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania. Later, interest spread south to Georgia as well as North and South Carolina. In fact, a "jumping event" was mentioned in 1834 in the nation's capital. The sport gained standing in Canada during this time as well. U.S. codes of conduct were established for the sport in Maryland in 1895.

The Importance of Market Exposure

As the founder of Selkirk Partners, Stewart Strawbridge utilizes a long-short equity strategy approach to maximize return on investment for his clients. Stewart Strawbridge bases his methodology on knowledge of market exposure and its potential effects on an investment portfolio. By definition, market exposure refers to a portfolio's individual risk level based on its distribution of securities held. A portfolio that holds 35 percent of its assets in the technology sector would be determined to have a 35 percent market exposure in that industry. The greater a portfolio's percentage in a particular industry, the more risk that investor takes on, and the more he or she stands to lose if this sector falls in value. In an effort to reduce market exposure, investors and managers diversify a portfolio's interests into different industries. This makes risk management calculations more complex, as each industry must be studied separately. However, the likelihood of large portfolio losses based on industry trends decreases as the portfolio diversifies. This broadened base of interests also allows the manager to employ strategies such as long-short equity, which mitigates trend-related impact on a portfolio.

An Explanation of Long-Short Investment Strategy

Stewart Strawbridge stands out as the founder of Selkirk Partners, an investment advisory group. In this role, Stewart Strawbridge guides a team of professionals in developing and implementing long-short equity strategies. The long-short strategy is a research-driven approach that focuses on balancing an investor's equity portfolio. As the name implies, the strategy involves purchasing both long and short positions in products based on each product's anticipated performance. For instance, a manager would purchase a long position, or an anticipated long-term interest, in a stock that he or she expects to rise in value. In turn, that manager would take a short position on an expected lower-performing stock. Because short sales involve the rapid buying and selling of a product, the investor would profit if this stock dropped in value as expected. This strategy is typically employed to provide risk adjustment and lower market exposure. The opposing methods involved in long and short positions balance one another and guard against developments that might dramatically affect a more concentrated portfolio. For example, if an investor holds a long position in a traditional retail company and a short position in an e-commerce entity, widespread consumer concerns about payment security would be less likely to affect the portfolio.

CURE Hydrocephalus

Stewart Strawbridge is a managing member and co-founder of Selkirk Management LLC, an equity investment enterprise. As an advisory firm, Selkirk Management LLC pursues superior, long-term, risk-adjusted returns for its clients. In addition to his professional responsibilities, Stewart Strawbridge supports research into a cure for hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus is a condition characterized by an accumulation of excess fluid in the brain, resulting in permanent damage or death. Recent studies have shown that nearly 80 percent of children born with the condition live in developing nations, making it unlikely that these children will receive proper medical care. CURE Hydrocephalus, an organization supported by Stewart Strawbridge, chose Uganda to take part in a 2000 research program. Uganda was chosen because of the nation’s limited ability to treat the condition on its own, with only one trained neurosurgeon per 10 million citizens, making proper hydrocephalus care nearly impossible to come by. As a result of the efforts made by CURE Hydrocephalus, over 5,000 patients affected by the condition are living today. More recently, CURE Hydrocephalus held the organization’s first ever coordinator training session with a goal of improving the global direction of hydrocephalus treatment.